Life-preserving bathing suit



Sept. 2, 1947. .1. M. coMBs LIFE-PRESERVING BATHING SUIT Filed March 50,1945 INVEVZ'OR. JAMES M. Comes Patented Sept. 2, 1947 UNITED STATESPATENT O'FFICE Application March 30, 1945, Serial No. 585,699

10 Claims.

1 This invention relates, as indicated, to a lifepreserving bathingsuit.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a bathing suit of thecharacter described, which is especially adapted to be Worn by children,and which is highly effective to sustain a childs body afloat for aconsiderable time, even in the event of injury or damage to portions ofthe suit.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bathing suit of thecharacter described having a novel arrangement of distensible pouchesand a manifold tube for simultaneously admitting air into all of thepouches.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bathing suit of thecharacter described in which air-tight joints between the manifold tubeand the distensible pouches are obtained :by means of coupling elementsof efficient and durable construction, which may be easily attached orremoved for replacement purposes.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a bathing suit ofthe character described which is extremely neat and attractive in appearance, free from bulkiness, and extremely light in weight.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent duringthe course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, andin which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughoutthe same,

Fig. l is a front elevational View of a childs bathing suit embodyingthe invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a portion of the frontof the suit, taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the tube and pouch unit, as viewed in thedirection indicated by the arrows 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an exploded view of the elements of parts used for connectingeach of the rubber pouches to the manifold tube, and

Fig. 5 is a view of the parts shown in Fig. 4, but in fully assembledrelation.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein is shown, forpurpose of illustration, a childs bathing suit, the bathing suit will beseen to comprise a body portion I, consisting of a front and back,shoulder straps 2, and leg or thigh portions 3, the suit being made ofany suitable textile or knitted fabric, as is customary in themanufacture of such bathing suits.

Secured to the inner faces of the front and back portion l of the .suit,as by parallel horizonpockets 8, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

tal lines of stitching 4 and 5,-is an annular band 6of a' fabric similarto that from which the suit as a whole is made. This band is furthersecured to the front and back portions of the suit by parallel verticallines I of stitching, which provide between such lines of stitching aseries of vertically-disposed pockets '8, which are closed at the bottomby the stitching 5 and are-partially closed at the top by the stitching4.

The stitching 4 is interrupted at points intermediate the points ofintersection of the stitching 4 and stitching l to provide openingsthrough which pouches or containers 9 of rubber or like distendablematerial may be introduced into the These pouches or containers arepreferably similar in size and contour to the conventional type ofprophylactic sheath, but are of somewhatgreater wall thickness than thelatter. These pouches, moreover, have a somewhat contracted neck portionIll, the function of which will hereinafter appear.

The portion of the fabric band 6, whichis disposed above the line ofstitching 4 forms a loose flap I! (Fig. 2), which is provided adjacentits upper edge with a series of spaced snap fasteners I2, which may beremovably secured to cooperating snap fasteners I3 on the-inner face ofthe body portion l of thesuit. The flap II, when secured to the body lof the suit, as in Fig. 2, forms an annular pocket or compartment M inwhich is disposed a soft flexible tube I5 of rubber or the like, whichis closed at one end, as at I6, and has secured to its other end a,valve [1, through which air may be blown, when a valve closure I8 isunscrewed.

The tube l5 forms a manifold for supplying. air to each of the pouchesor containers 9, when air is blown through the valve H.

An important feature of the invention resides in the means whereby thetube or manifold I5 is connected to each of the pouchesor containers 9.For this purpose, as best shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the tube I5 isprovided in its wall with perforations 19, which are spaced tocorrespond with the spacing of the necks it) of the pouches 9. Theseperforations 59 form openings through which the externally threadedshank 20 of'a connector element 2! may be passed, as in Fig. 5, theperforation It being of somewhat smaller diameter than the diameter ofthe shank 20, so that the tube will securely hug the shank. Theconnector elementv 2| is provided with an axial port or opening 22,forming a passageway for the passage of air from the tube |51to theinterior of thepouch 9.

The connector element 2| is rigidly secured to the tube l5 by means of anut 23, which is threadedly secured to the shank 29, and which, whendrawn up to the position shown in Fig. 5, clamps the wall of the tubeabout the opening I 9 between the upper flat face of a washer 24, whichis interposed between the tube and the nut 23, and the lower flat faceof the head of the element 2|.

The nut 23 is provided with a convex or spherical upper face 25.

The washer 24 has a convex or spherical lower 7 face 26, which, when thenut 23 is drawn up into abutment with the washer, as in Fig. 5, isdisposed opposite the face 25 of the nut 23, the faces 25 and 26 formingan annular recess therebetween of wedge-shaped cross-section.

In connecting each of the pouches 9 to the tube l5, the parts 2!, 23 and24 are first assembled with the tube as in Fig. 5, after which theconstricted neck I of the pouch 9 is placed opposite the annular recessformed by the faces 25 and 26 respectively. Then, bymeans'of a rubberband,

string, or thread, indicated at 21 in Fig. 5, the.

cle, as a whole,.a commercially feasible one, since 7 the lack'of such acoupling or connection has heretofore been the principal deterrent tothe production of this otherwise highly desirable item of wearingapparel.

' The ,use of the garment will be readily understood from the foregoingdescription.

The garment is first placed on the child in the ordinary manner, andwith the pouches Bin deflated condition. The pouches may then be filledwith air either by the child, or by an adult, who will blow air throughthe valve" and into the tube I'until the pouches 9 are properlyinflated. The valve I1 is readily accessible for this purpose, since aconsiderable portion of the tube projects through an opening 28 in thesuit, which opening is disposed behind a pocket 29 on the front of thesuit. When the pouches'have been properly inflated, thevalve I1 isclosed, and the projecting portion of the tube l5 may be folded andplaced inside the pocket 29.

Should one or several of the pouches 9 become punctured, the leakagefrom the remaining pouches into and through the punctured pouch orpouches will be at such a slow rate, that the child will be maintainedafloat for a considerable period.

Although a'series of pouches is shown as disposed at both the front andback of the body portion of the bathing suit, it will be readilyunderstood that either the front or back series may be eliminated, sincesuflicient buoyancy will be afforded by a single series of such pouches,when properly inflated.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention, herein described,is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that Variouschanges may be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit of myinvention, or the scope of the subjoined claims. a

. Having thus described my invention. I claim:

1. In a bathing garment, a series of parallel pockets, pouches of adistensible material disposed in said, pockets, a manifold tube offlexible material disposed adjacent said pouches, and 7 means connectingsaid manifold tube with each of said pouches, said means comprising anelement connected to said tube and a flexible attaching element securingthe 'mouth of the pouch to said first-named element. a

2. In a bathing garment, a series of parallel pockets, open-endedpouches of a distensible material disposed in said pockets, a manifoldtube of flexible material disposed adjacent the openings in saidpouches, and means connecting said manifold tube with each of saidpouches, said means comprising a connector element rigidly secured tosaid tube, and a flexible cord-like element securing the open end ofsaid pouch into the pouch, a'nut rigidly securing said connector elementto said tube, a washer secured to said connector element, said nut andwasher coac'ting to form an'annular recess, and means drawing the openend of said pouch into said recess'to form anair-tight joint betweensaid pouch and said nut and washer.

4. In a bathing garment, a seriesof parallel pockets, open-ended pouchesof aidistensible material disposed in said pockets, a manifold tube offlexible material disposed adjacent the openings insaid pouches, andmeans connecting said manifold tube with each of said pouches, saidmeans-comprisinga connector element having a threaded shank and an axialpassageway through said shank communicating the interior of said tubewith the interior of the pouch, a nut mounted on said shank and rigidlysecuringthe connector element to said tube, a washer mountedon'saidshank, said nut and washer coacting to'form an annular recesstherebetween, and means for drawing the open end of said pouch into saidrecess, thereby constricting the open end of the pouch and establishingan air-tight joint between said pouch and said nut and washer.

5. In a bathing garment, a series, of parallel pockets, open-endedpouches of a distensible material disposed in said pockets a manifoldtube of flexiblematerial disposed adjacent the openingsin said pouches,and means connecting said manifold tube with each of said pouches, saidmeans comprising a connector'element having a threaded shank and anaxial passageway through a said shank communicating the interior of saidtube with the interior of the pouch, a nut mounted on said shank andrigidly securing the connector element to said tube,a washer mounted onsaid. shank, said nut and Washer'having convex surfaces which coact 'toform arr-annular recess of wedge-shaped cross-section, and means drawingthe open neck of said pouch into'said recess,

said last-named means and said convex surfaces 6. Means for connectingan open-ended rubber pouch to the wall of a flexible rubber tube, saidmeans comprising a connector element having a threaded shank and anaxial passageway through said shank communicating the interior of saidtube with the interior of said pouch, a nut mounted on said shank andrigidly securing the connector element to said tube, a washer mounted onsaid shank, said nut and washer ccacting to form an annular recess ofWedge-shaped crosssection therebetween, and means for drawing the openend of said pouch into said recess to form an air-tight joint betweensaid pouch and said nut and Washer.

'7. Means for connecting an open-ended rubber pouch to the wall of aflexible tube having an opening in said wall, said means comprising aconnector element having a head disposed within said tube and a threadedshank extending through said opening and having a passageway extendingthrough said head and shank adapted to form an air passageway betweenthe interior of said tube and the interior of said pouch, means mountedon said shank and clamping said tube to said head, said last-named meansproviding an annular recess, and means for drawing a portion of saidpouch into said recess to thereby connect said pouch to said clampingmeans.

8. In a bathing garment, a series of parallel pockets, pouches of adistensible material disposed in said pockets, a single manifold tube offlexible material disposed adjacent said pouches and extending past themouths of all of the pouches, and means connecting said manifold tubewith each of said Pouches, said means comprising an element connected tosaid tube and a flexible attaching element securing the mouth of thepouch to said first-named element.

9. In a bathing garment, a series of parallel pockets, pouches of adistensible material disposed in said pockets, a single manifold tube offlexible material disposed adjacent said pouches and extending past themouths of all of the pouches, and means connecting said manifold tubewith each of said pouches, said means comprising a connector elementrigidly secured to said tube, and a flexible cord-like element securingthe open end of the pouch into constricted air-tight relation to saidconnector element.

10. In a bathing garment, a series of parallel pockets, pouches of adistensible material disposed in said pockets, a manifold tube offlexible material disposed adjacent said pouches and having openings inthe Wall thereof, connector elements having heads disposed in said tubeand threaded shanks extending through said openings and havingpassageways extending through said head and shank adapted to form airpassageways between the interior of said tube and the interior of saidpouches, means mounted on said shanks and providing annular recesses,the mouths of said pouches being drawn into said recesses and inconstricted air-tight relation with said means.

JAMES M. COMES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,730,812 Ford Oct. 8, 19291,596,573 Beaulieu et a1 Aug. 17, 1926 665.260 Ostermeyer Jan. 1, 1901

